Woodwork/tool question

[walshie]

I suspect Ditchman is the guy to answer this, but any input much appreciated. 

I've had a good root through the barns and sheds and instead of throwing away broken tools, I'm going to fix them. There's sledge hammers, lump hammers, ball pein hammers, pickaxes, garden forks and spades, shears and a thing I think might be a sling blade. 

God knows what sort of ham-fisted oaf lived here and broke everything he had, but fixing them up of an evening will be more fun than watching Hollyoaks (so I would imagine.)

I've been studying youtube and I know the pickaxes and hammers need wooden wedges to hold them onto the new handles. Silly question, but where do you get them and what wood are they made of? Better still, if you have the right wood, can you make them yourself? 

Edited October 11, 2018 by walshie

[billytheghillie]

The old axe I had, had a metal wedge in it.

[Ultrastu]

Ash or hemlock usually .

Builders merchants often have handels for the above. 

Find an old school hardware shop .should sort you out. 

[walshie]

I've seen the handles, but they don't come with the wedges. The little metal wedges are for holding the wooden wedges tight.

[spandit]

I use oak and yes you can make them yourself. You can hammer a metal wedge across the wooden one

I glue them in too - I think it helps lubricate when you drive it in

Edited October 11, 2018 by spandit

[Ricko]

I make my wooden wedges out of hardwood, I sometimes cross it at right angles with a metal one as well.

[Walker570]

As above, plus my old granddaddy used to toss them in the cow trough for an hour or two as well. He said it swelled the wood tight. If they started to loosed in the trough again they would go.

[walshie]

I'll have to make a cow trough now. 

[moondoggy]

Watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-dEJdyXj34

Ben Orford is an excellent tool maker and really knows his stuff

[moose man]

11 hours ago, moondoggy said:

Watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-dEJdyXj34

Ben Orford is an excellent tool maker and really knows his stuff

He does make a nice handle ! Walshie has got more chance of swimming the Atlantic with a cooker on his back that crafting a handle like that ! . 😂..pm me Walshie I’ll send you a couple of oak wedges ..

[Scully]

There are some excellent ‘how to’ vids on the tube, saying that, there are some seriously good looking women on Hollyoaks! 👍

[Old farrier]

Pick axe doesn’t need a wedge the handle goes in from the opposite direction 😂

any hard wood is fine I usually use some from a broken handle 

easiest way to get the old handle out is to drill some of the wood out first and then knock it out with a drift 

all the best 

of 

[ditchman]

did a knife & fork a few days ago..........first time in 30 years.........the handles were from a local ironmongers at £ 7.00 each.......B&Q have a good range to....take the stuff that needs re-hafting with you....also buy a rough and a smooth rasp...............

SPANDIT puts glue on the wood before driving it in....i do this too on hammers and axes ...not spade and fork tho'......with them i tap the handle in fairly hard ....then i heat the metal up with a cheap gas blow lamp...this opens the metal up quite a bit...then give it another sharp tap ...and the handle will go in another 1/2"....when it cools it is realy tight ...then i put the rivets in and burr them over..........

finally i rough sand them and coat them in several coats of stained boiled linseed oil....................

et voila.............

Edited October 12, 2018 by ditchman

[sandspider]

Use seasoned wood for your wedges. If you use unseasoned, it will shrink as it dries and the wedge will pop out...

[ditchman]

1 hour ago, sandspider said:

Use seasoned wood for your wedges. If you use unseasoned, it will shrink as it dries and the wedge will pop out...

dry/heat the wedges up so they have zero moisture.....then when you tap them in they will take on a bit of natural moisture and swell tight..........thats how they make ash chairs in the wood,,,...they put the spindles and legs next to the fire and dry the ends out completly...then tap them in........then they swell up to fit..

so what sandspider says is dead right........

[sandspider]

[Longstrider]

We've always called the little metal wedges 'dogs'. You can still by them loose in a wide variety of sizes from a wonderful shop called Odells on Stony Stratford High St.